policy justifications for continued arms sales and security assistance. The report includes a standardized set of requirements related to human rights and U.S. The first step of the 502B(c) oversight mechanism involves Congress requesting a report on human rights conditions in a target country. S.Res.109 invokes Section 502B(c)’s congressional oversight mechanism,which complements Section 502B(a)’s binding prohibition. However, public justifications for such cut-offs – or a lack thereof – referencing Section 502B are exceedingly rare. Although the executive branch has interpreted Section 502B’s central prohibition narrowly and sometimes resisted implementing it, administrations have reportedly cut off security assistance to certain countries, most recently Ethiopia, on the basis of Section 502B. government itself, among other types of security cooperation. Section 502B defines security assistance broadly to include arms sales, whether by private companies or the U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, “other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person” should “encompass serious violations of international humanitarian law resulting in the loss of civilian life.” A 2017 expert opinion commissioned by the ABA Center for Human Rights argued that, in the context of U.S. However, Section 502B(d) includes “other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person” as a gross violation of human rights. Based on the Section 502B definition the State Department classifies “torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, and rape under color of law” as gross violations of human rights in the context of Leahy vetting. security assistance “to any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” Section 502B defines gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and the same definition applies for the purpose of the Leahy Law. The central prohibition of Section 502B(a) bans the provision of U.S. (For a simplified explanation of how the Section 502B(c) process functions, see the Center for Civilians in Conflict’s explainer on the topic.) The latter creates the framework for S.Res.109. Section 502B has two main parts: a binding prohibition and a congressional enforcement mechanism. It also provides expedited pathways to votes on the Senate floor, making it a potent tool to accelerate congressional action regarding support to partners with particularly concerning human rights records. The statute fills gaps in other, more familiar oversight and reporting mechanisms and offers more flexibility than alternatives. The revival of Section 502B is long overdue. If the Murphy-Lee resolution passes, it will mark the first time that Congress has requested a report under Section 502B(c) since 1976. Section 502B is perhaps best known for the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, mandated in Section 502B(b), but its complementary targeted reporting mechanism and joint resolution of disapproval in Section 502B(c) are far less understood. Section 502B originated as a major legislative outcome of human rights oversight efforts on Capitol Hill in the wake of Watergate and the Vietnam War, but Congress has underutilized the oversight tool in recent decades. policy going forward.” Section 502B(c) offers a particularly effective mechanism for doing so. Murphy describes S.Res.109 as a way to “set in motion a process that will allow Congress to debate the deteriorating human rights record of Saudi Arabia and how that should impact U.S. Murphy says that the administration has still not followed through on that commitment. ties with Saudi Arabia amid the Kingdom’s oil production cuts. In October 2022, the Biden administration again promised to “re-evaluate” U.S. § 2304(c) ) to request a report on the government of Saudi Arabia’s human rights practices.ĭuring his presidential campaign, President Biden and his advisors repeatedly pledged to review the U.S.-Saudi relationship and hold the Saudi government accountable for abuses ranging from the brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi to “ murdering children and murdering innocent people ” in Yemen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced S.Res.109, a simple resolution that invokes Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act ( 22 U.S.C.
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